All about guns, legislation and politics in New York
The Kinderhook Republican Committee held a fundraiser at Tri-Village Rod & Gun Club today.
Assemblyman Jake Ashby was there.
I have harped on this a lot and will continue to: It is critical that gun owners attend events like this and for clubs to be open to hosting them. This is how to effectively influence the legislative and political processes, not with rallies or bitching on social media.
Michael Filozof at American Thinker opines, “The Kavanaugh fight isn’t about abortion. It’s about guns.”
“… The Kavanaugh confirmation is about the future, not refighting the cultural battles of the 1970s. And next up on the Democratic agenda is sweeping, national gun control – and possibly even confiscation …”
I don’t agree with this.
Yes, there are politicians including Governor Cuomo that would be upset if their signature gun control laws were shot down by SCOTUS. However, the main difference between the issues is that abortion has a legitimate grassroots surrounding it and gun control does not.
Democrat politicians aren’t stupid. They are not going to put a lot of effort into issues that do not give them a positive return at election time. This is why gun control is largely dead on the national level and all but a handful of states like New York. Abortion isn’t. SCOTUS issued a ruling that largely kept that issue from being fought in the states. If it were overturned that’s where it would go. If SAFE were overturned most of the country would be unaffected. This is why whenever their is a court vacancy or a significant ruling about to come down abortion protestors can be seen with signs outside rallying. Gun control advocates don’t do that because they can’t. The culture war on guns has largely been won by 2A. The same cannot be said about abortion.
Coming on the heels of Everytown’s endorsments, Giffords’ has made some endorsements of their own for the fall elections:
Some thoughts on these:
Friday’s Newsbits:
Elections:
Jurisprudence:
Politics:
Mayor Bloomberg is back.
“Everytown for Gun Safety, the pro-gun control group founded by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, is rolling out a $5 million digital ad campaign targeting 15 House races, as the group continues heavy investment in the midterm elections … The group is also going after seven open, Republican-controlled seats representing districts that include suburbs in metro areas from Seattle to New York City …”
Who are they targeting? According to Slate:
“… All 15 of its targets are on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Red to Blue” list, districts with strong Democratic candidates with potential to defeat the incumbent Republican or keep their seats in a contentious race …”
That gives us this list:
A few thoughts:
First, this isn’t a grassroots effort. It’s just Mayor Mike funneling his cash through Everytown. More astroturf.
Second, this is just plain lazy. I know from experience that surveying candidates and trying to figure out where to put resources is a big effort that takes a long prep time. Everytown clearly didn’t do any of that if they admit to using DCC’s list.
Third, they are targeting antigun Republican Dan Donovan in CD-11. Giving the finger to your supporters is not smart.
Fourth, in CD-19 Delgado is largely avoiding gun control with only a vague statement about treating “gun violence” as a public health issue on his campaign website. With it being a 4-way race the campaign does not seem to believe going hard for gun control would be good for them.
Monday’s Newsbits:
Elections:
Jurisprudence:
Politics:
Marc Molinaro brought up the SAFE Act while campaigning in Utica:
“… Molinaro said he would dismantle the SAFE Act; something he said would make the state safer. He added that the focus should be on the root causes of violent acts and not making criminals out of honest citizens …”
Molinaro has a progun record from his time in the Assembly and as Dutchess Co. Executive and there is nothing wrong with campaigning on that record.
However, he does have a few problems:
The Governor decided to pounce on Molinaro with this ad:
So what are the campaigns going to get from all this? Nothing. The negatives outweigh the positives for both of them.
Tuesday’s Newsbits:
Elections:
Jurisprudence:
Legislation:
Politics:
Republican A.G. candidate Keith Wofford is ramping up his campaign with a multi-million dollar ad campaign:
I assume this is a statewide buy. I saw one of his ads on WRGB.
I don’t know what his position on 2A is and I don’t expect him to bring it up during the campaign. Given that his opponent is an antigun zealot it doesn’t matter so much as his ability to make the A.G. race more competitive due to his fundraising prowness.
NRA is running phonebanks for Congressmen Lee Zeldin (R-1) and John Faso (R-19). Click on each name for information on how to participate.
The Cook Political Report currently lists CD-1 as Likely Republican and CD-19 as Republican Toss-Up. The latest Siena poll shows Faso with a slight lead over challenger Antonio Delgado while a Monmouth poll has Delgado a little ahead.